Display device with sharable screen image

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a display device for sharing one virtual screen image with other display devices, comprising display means for displaying a physical screen image corresponding to a portion of the virtual screen image; computing means for executing computations of the display device; and communication means for communicating with other display devices, so that those display devices are capable of interacting with each other via the virtual screen image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Patent Application No. 101113781, filed Apr. 18, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an intelligent display device, and more particularly to a display device capable of sharing one virtual screen image with other display devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Intelligent display devices, including device from large size of televisions, notebook computers and tablet computers to small size of personal digital assistants and cell phones, and the like, can provide instant services via their display screens for users. They play more and more important role in the modern life for people.

In addition to providing the intelligent display device as a general display device, the intelligent display device could be operated as an interactive display device that allows the users to instinctively operate the display device in correspondence to the visual feedback from the different requests of the users. Thus the users could fully enjoy the service and function provided by the intelligent display device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, with the improvement of information and communication technology, the demand of interaction between/among the intelligent display devices is increasing. The conventional display device which could only display the content in a single display device does not serve the need any more.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a display device capable of interacting with other display devices via one virtual screen image.

The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art, and provides a display device for sharing one virtual screen image with other display devices, comprising: display means for displaying a physical screen image corresponding to a portion of the virtual screen image; computing means, connected with the display means, for executing computations of the display device; and communication means, connected with the computing means, for communicating with other display devices to share the virtual screen image.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the communication means is communicated with other display devices by a wireless transmission method.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the communication means is communicated with other display devices via a physical transmission line.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the communication means is communicated with other display devices through a network.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the virtual screen image is sourced from the physical screen image selected from one of the display device and other display devices.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the virtual screen image is obtained by resizing the physical screen image.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the virtual screen image is obtained by changing the image resolution of the physical screen image.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the portion of the virtual screen image corresponding to the physical screen image is associated with the position of the display device in relation to all of the display devices sharing the virtual screen image.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the physical screen image of the display device is data/files transmittable to the physical screen image of other display devices through the virtual screen image.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the display device further comprises determining means, connected with the computing means, for determining whether sharing the virtual screen image with other display devices.

Thereby, the display device of the present invention is capable of communicating with other display devices to share one virtual screen image with each other. With the join of more display devices in communication, the available physical dimension of screen image is increased. Thus it makes the number and dimension of screens larger. For example, people can enjoy a movie together on a big screen which can be a combination of 4 (2×2), 9 (3×3), or 16 (4×4) tablet personal computers, or even more. It can provide a better service and utilization of personal resources based on sharing display devices and is also eco-friendly.

Further, the virtual screen image can be served as a platform for communication and transmission. It allows physical screen image of the display devices to interact with each other. While the conventional interaction implemented by software is limited by the software itself, the interaction implemented through the virtual screen image can fully break through the boundaries and the limitation by the software and maximize the function of the display device without any consideration of the software. In the future, more and more new applications, such as interactive games, social software or interactive teaching and learning system, can be developed based on this virtual platform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of display devices according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the display devices according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing illustrating the display devices being in communication via a physical transmission line;

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing illustrating the display devices being in communication through a network;

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing illustrating a display device group displaying a virtual screen image sourced from one physical screen image;

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing illustrating a display device group displaying a virtual screen image obtained by resizing a physical screen image;

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing illustrating a display device group displaying physical screen image obtained by changing the image resolution of a physical screen image;

FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing illustrating each display device displaying a physical screen image depending on its position in relation to the display device group;

FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing illustrating the display devices being data/files transmittable to each other through the virtual screen image; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic drawing of examples of display devices of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of display devices according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the display devices according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a display device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used for sharing one virtual screen image Sv with other display devices. The display device 1 includes a display means 11, a computing means 12, a communication means 13, and a determining means 14.

The display means 11 can function as a traditional screen, and a screen image displayed thereon is called as a physical screen image Sp in this specification. The “physical” screen image Sp means that the screen image is displayed on a physical apparatus (i.e., the display device 1). The physical screen image Sp is corresponding to a portion of the virtual screen image Sv. The virtual screen image Sv will be detailed below.

The computing means 12 is connected with the display means 11, for executing computations of the display device 1. In some embodiments, the computing means 12 may be a graphic card, a processor, or the like.

The communication means 13 is connected with the computing means 12, for communicating with other display devices to share the virtual screen image Sv. In this embodiment, the display device 1 is communicated to another display device 1 a by the communication means 13 in such a manner to allow the physical screen image Sp of the display device 1 to combine with a physical screen image Sp′ of display device la to form as one virtual screen image Sv. As the result, for a user of display device 1, he/she seems to have an extra display means 11 a to display another physical screen image Sp′. Likewise, for a user of display device 1 a, he/she becomes to have an additional display means 11. For users, the virtual screen image Sv, which is formed by combining two physical screen image Sp and Sp′, is obtained. In other words, it also means that the virtual screen image Sv is a screen image seen by users.

There are various communicating ways for communication means 13 to perform, such as wireless transmission, physical transmission line, network, and so on.

As for the wireless transmission, a communication between the display devices can be implemented by an infrared transmission, Bluetooth technology, and the like. As for the physical transmission, a communication between the display devices can be implemented by an external physical transmission line 15 (shown in FIG. 3) connected therebetween or contacting of transmission contact points thereof. As for the network, as shown in FIG. 4, a network N such as internet, local area network (LAN), and the like can be used for implementing a communication between the display devices. And, those display devices in the communication are formed into a display device group 2.

Please be noted that there is no limit of the number and distance for the display devices in the display device group 2. Any display device in communication with other display devices is regarded as a member of the display device group 2 to share one virtual screen image Sv. Preferably, the display device 1 is further provided with a determining means 14 connected with the computing means 12, for determining whether sharing the virtual screen image Sv with other display devices.

The displaying detail of the virtual screen image Sv will be described below. Please refer to FIGS. 5-7. FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing illustrating a display device group displaying a virtual screen image sourced from one physical screen image, FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing illustrating a display device group displaying a virtual screen image obtained by resizing a physical screen image, and FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing illustrating a display device group displaying physical screen image obtained by changing the image resolution of a physical screen image.

As shown in FIG. 5, the virtual screen image Sv is a collection of multiple physical screen image Sp. The virtual screen image Sv may be sourced from a physical screen image Sp0 of one display device 1 of the display device group 2. In other words, one display device 1 selected from the display device group 2 is served as a master display device and other display devices of the display device group 2 are served as slave display devices. The physical screen image Sp0 of the display device 1 served as the master display device is selected as a source of the virtual screen image Sv. However, the present invention is not limited to this and the virtual screen image Sv can be sourced from a network or a peripheral as well as the display device in the display device group 2.

Further, the virtual screen image Sv can be obtained by resizing the source physical screen image Sp0, as shown in FIG. 6. Besides that, the virtual screen image Sv also can be obtained by changing the image resolution of the physical screen image Sp0 to get a higher image quality, as shown in FIG. 7.

Note that, for simplicity, most figures of the present invention illustrates the virtual screen image Sv as a complete diagram and every physical screen image Sp thereof is shown as a diagram split from the complete diagram. However the content of the physical screen images Sp of every display device of the display device group 2 may be independent on each other. For example, the content of the physical screen images Sp can be remained as the same at the time before and after the display device 1 shares the virtual screen image Sv. In the case that the physical screen images Sp of every display devices of the display device group 2 are independent of each other, the virtual screen image Sv is like a large screen image having several sub-screen images.

Further, although the physical screen images Sp of all of the display devices of the display device group 2 are shown to be corresponding to a portion of the virtual screen image Sv, respectively, it does not mean that the sum of all of the physical screen images Sp is equivalent to the full virtual screen image Sv. For example, FIG. 8 shows that the sum of all physical screen images Sp is not equivalent to the full virtual screen image Sv.

FIG. 8 also shows another display action of the virtual screen image Sv. In

FIG. 8, the portion of the virtual screen image Sv corresponding to the physical screen image Sp is associated with the position of the display device 1 in relation to all of the display devices sharing the virtual screen image (i.e., all of the display devices of the display device group 2). The display action of displaying the physical screen image Sp depending on the real spatial relation is more intuitive and convenient for users.

Please refer to FIG. 9, which is a schematic drawing illustrating the display devices being data/files transmittable to each other through the virtual screen image. As well as for sharing the screen image, the virtual screen image Sv can be used as a medium for transmitting. Through the virtual screen image Sv, the physical screen image Sp of the display device 1 is data/files transmittable to a physical screen image Sp′ of another display device 1 a. For example, a data D is transmitted from the display device 1 to the display device 1 a while dragging the picture of the data D from left to right in the virtual screen image Sv. Certainly, it usually needs software and hardware support to implement such transmission on the display device 1 and 1 a.

Please refer to FIG. 10, which is a schematic drawing of examples of display devices of the present invention. There are various types of the display devices 1, 1 b, and 1 c, such as a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a cell phone, and the like, and those display devices have a difference in screen size. Even so, the display devices 1, 1 b, and 1 c are capable of communicating with each other. In other words, the device type and screen size are nothing to the display devices 1, 1 b, and 1 c to share one virtual screen image Sv.

From the above, the display device of the present invention is capable of communicating with other display devices to share one virtual screen image with each other. With the join of more display devices in communication, the available physical dimension of screen image is increased. Thus it makes the number and dimension of screens larger. For example, people can enjoy a movie together on a big screen which can be a combination of 4 (2×2), 9 (3×3), or 16 (4×4) tablet personal computers, or even more. It can provide a better service and utilization of personal resources based on sharing display devices and is also eco-friendly. Further, the virtual screen image can be served as a platform for communication and transmission. It allows physical screen image of the display devices to interact with each other. While the conventional interaction implemented by software is limited by the software itself, the interaction implemented through the virtual screen image can fully break through the boundaries and the limitation by the software and maximize the function of the display device without any consideration of the software. In the future, more and more new applications, such as interactive games, social software or interactive teaching and learning system, can be developed based on this virtual platform.

As can be appreciated from the above embodiments, the display device of the present invention has industry worth which meets the requirement for a patent. The above description should be considered as only the discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, a person having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications to the present invention. Those modifications still fall within the spirit and scope defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device for sharing one virtual screen image with other display devices, comprising: display means for displaying a physical screen image corresponding to a portion of the virtual screen image; computing means, connected with the display means, for executing computations of the display device; and communication means, connected with the computing means, for communicating with other display devices to share the virtual screen image.
 2. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication means is communicated with other display devices by a wireless transmission method.
 3. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication means is communicated with other display devices via a physical transmission line.
 4. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication means is communicated with other display devices through a network.
 5. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the virtual screen image is sourced from the physical screen image selected from one of the display device and other display devices.
 6. The display device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the virtual screen image is obtained by resizing the physical screen image.
 7. The display device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the virtual screen image is obtained by changing the image resolution of the physical screen image.
 8. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portion of the virtual screen image corresponding to the physical screen image is associated with the position of the display device in relation to all of the display devices sharing the virtual screen image.
 9. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the physical screen image of the display device is data/files transmittable to the physical screen image of other display devices through the virtual screen image.
 10. The display device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising determining means, connected with the computing means, for determining whether sharing the virtual screen image with other display devices. 